John Arcand

Rabbit Dance

John Arcand

Yvon Dumont

Cooper Skjeie

Jessica Johns

Bad Cree Reading

Randy Lundy is an award-winning poet whose collections include Blackbird Song (2018) and Field Notes for the Self (2020), published by the University of Regina Press. He has also published fiction and non-fiction, and his work is featured in some of the most significant anthologies of Indigenous writings in Canada, as well as internationally. Randy Lundy holds a MA in English from the University of Saskatchewan and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Fiction Writing from the Humber School for Writers. He has extensive experience as a university educator at First Nations University and at Campion College in Regina, where he has taught courses in creative writing and Indigenous literatures across program levels. Randy is currently serving as assistant professor in the Department of English - Creative Writing, Indigenous Literatures, and Oral Traditions program at the University of Toronto-Scarborough.

Born in northern Manitoba, he has lived most of his life in Saskatchewan. Randy is a member of the Barren Lands First Nation in Manitoba.

Rita Bouvier, a semi-retired Metis educator, is author of three collections of poetry. nakomowin’sa for the seasons (Thistledown Press, 2015) was the 2016 Sask Book Awards winner of the Rasmussen, Rasmussen & Charowsky Aboriginal Peoples’ Writing Award. Rita’s poetry has appeared as a children’s book, in literary anthologies, musical and television productions, and has been translated into Spanish, German and Cree-Michif of her home community. Home is sakitawak—Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, situated on the historic trading and meeting grounds of the Cree and Dene people living in the region.

Courtney-Dawn Anaquod hails from Muscowpetung saulteaux First Nation (Fort Qu’Appelle) and currently resides in Saskatoon. Renowned Saskatchewan’s Jigging champion, Youth Mentor and Jigging Instructor founder of the Qu’Appelle Valley Dancers. She is the Grandaughter of the late Fiddling champion Morris Anaquod and Jigging champion Theresa Anaquod, and the great-granddaughter of the late Joe Amyotte. Courtney is self-taught Jigger and Inspiration comes from her Grandparents and continues to carry on the Anaquod legacy sharing her talents with the youth across Saskatchewan and northern Saskatchewan.

John Arcand is originally from the Debden–Big River area of Saskatchewan. John now makes his home on acreage southwest of Saskatoon. He started playing fiddle at the age six, with coaching from his Father and Grandfather and by age twelve he was playing for dances. His impeccable sense of timing and flowing rhythm came from learning to watch the dancers feet at this early age and from this he developed and refined a style of playing that has helped him become a legend in the fiddle world. People often referred to him as the “dancer’s choice” throughout his long career. John has made seventeen recordings throughout his career; featuring his original compositions, the traditional Métis tunes of his Father and Grandfather, and those he researched and learned. He is also a prolific writer having composed over 490 original tunes to date.

Jessica Johns is a Nehiyaw-English-Irish aunty and member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta. She is the Managing Editor for Room Magazine and a co-organizer of the Indigenous Brilliance reading series. Her short story, “The Bull of the Cromdale,” was nominated for a 2019 National Magazine Award, her debut poetry chapbook, How Not to Spill, won the 2019 BP Nichol Chapbook Award, and her short story “Bad Cree” won silver at the 2020 National Magazine Awards.

Cooper Skjeie (/sh-ay/) is a Métis-Germanic educator, curriculum developer, and MFA in Writing candidate from Treaty 6 and Métis Territory. An alumnus of the Banff Centre’s Emerging Writers Intensive, he was longlisted for the 2019 Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize, and his work appears in Grain Magazine, PRISM International, The Mamawi Project Zine, and the LCP Chapbook Series. He lives in Saskatoon.

Mika Lafond is a member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. In 2017, she published her first book of poetry, nipê wânîn, which was also her full-length thesis project for the MFA Writing Program. She has had poems published in the Malahat Review, kimiwan zine, and three anthologies: Release Any Words Stuck Inside of You: Untethered Anthology of Shorts, kisiskâciwan: Indigenous Voices from Where the River Flows Swiftly, and Three Sisters Soup for the Spirit. In 2019 she worked with the Saskatoon Public School Division's Indigenous Ensemble on production of her first play "otâcimow". Her first fiction story was published in Grain Magazine in 2019. Mika currently teaches classes at the Indian Teacher Education Program.